KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Aug – As expected, Leong Jun Hao and Lim Chong King confirmed their slots to Division One of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Invitation Championship after fending off some serious challenge in Division 2.

After two days of keen competition in Bukit Kiara, Jun Hao and Chong King dominated the top two groups of Division 2 to ensure their passage to the main Division One which will start on Aug 11.

The two players are on the same 8 points after brilliantly maintaining their unbeaten record in all four matches they have played.

Jun Hao grabbed his third win in the morning session after streaking over Wyman Goh in a three-set thriller 20-22, 21-12, 21-17 confirming his slot to the main division by beating Muhammad Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar in straight sets 21-14, 21 -18.

“My game is better today. My aim had always been to take it one game at a time to make the grade to Division 1.

“The competition in Division 1 will be a lot keener and I know that I will have to shore up all the shortcomings especially when it comes to maintaining focus,” said Jun Hao.

On the other hand, Jun Hao’s rival Chong Kim is not too concerned about winning the overall top spot in Division 2 where his concentration was only to maintain momentum and win a spot to Division 1.

“The players are tired from yesterday, but I felt that the game today is better, and the pace is faster especially during important parts of the game.

“I am relieved to have gained the momentum after playing four matches and I do not feel any pressure when I am on court,” said Chong King who came back from losing in the first set to beat Ter Chun Long 19-21, 21-16, 21-13 in the morning session.

He was again forced to work hard against Wyman Goh in the afternoon before securing a 21-16, 22-20 win to finish second on points after four matches.

Chong King and Jun Hao will meet tomorrow afternoon to determine the winner and runners-up position.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar occupied the third spot with four points from four matches played.

Shaqeem won over Low Eu Cong 21-15, 2118-21, 21-12 in the morning but failed to get past Jun Hao in the afternoon session.

Wyman Goh is fourth with two points while Low Eu Cong and Ter Chun Long are fifth and sixth respectively.

The BAM Invitational Championship is a BAM-organised event following four months of inactivity due COVID-19 pandemic.

The championship is being held at the Malaysian Badminton Academy (ABM) in Bukit Kiara without spectators – using the ’round robin’ format and divided into two phases.

For phase 1, the match will take place from 5-7 August involving six back-up players who will compete to win the top two spots for the chance to play in the main division.

Division 1 will then start from 11-16 August divided into five categories and will be accompanied by 52 senior players including eight professional players.

RESULTS – DIVISION 2

Morning session

Leong Jun Hao – Wyman Goh (20-22, 21-12, 21-17)

Lim Chong King – Ter Chun Long (19-21, 21-16, 21-13)

Muhammad Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar – Low Eu Cong (21-15, 18-21, 21-12)

Evening session

Lim Chong King – Wyman Goh (21-16, 22-20)

Leong Jun Hao – Muhammad Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar (21-14, 21-18)

Low Eu Cong – Ter Chun Long (21-11, 21-18)

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Aug – Maxis-sponsored Team Secret PUBG Mobile (PUBGM) Malaysia became the top Malaysian team to qualify for the PUBG Mobile World League (PMWL) East 2020 finals last Sunday.

After a 3-week battle on the popular eSports stage, the team proved themselves as comeback kings by qualifying for the world-class event against 19 other teams across Asia.

The team finished fifth place in the League Play series and will proudly fly the Malaysian flag in the East Grand Finals from 6 to 9 August.

Maxis has been proud sponsors of Team Secret PUBG Mobile Malaysia after a partnership was signed between both parties in July last year.

Leveraging Maxis capabilities as Malaysia’s No.1 Network and Team Secret, the world-renowned pro gaming organisation, both parties have been working together to produce exclusive and world-class gaming content to cultivate more Malaysian gamers to take on the world stage.

“We are inspired by the dedication and grit of our fellow Team Secret players who have continuously put their best foot forward to lift Malaysia up in the global eSports arena.

Our collaboration has allowed us to collectively promote the growth of the Malaysian eSports scene, in-line with our brand purpose – bringing together the best of technologies to enable people, businesses and the nation to Always Be Ahead in an ever changing world.

Our partnership with Team Secret reinforces our commitment to help grow Malaysia’s eSports scene to be the top eSports hub in Asia,” said Maxis’ Head of Brand & Marketing, Tai Kam Leong in a statement today.

“We constantly try to improve ourselves and we knew qualifying for the PMCO Global Prelims in Berlin last year was not enough. We changed our tactics to be more versatile by adding a new Malaysian teammate, Rex. We are eager to see what awaits us in the East Finals and the boys are prepared to make the nation proud.

“We would like to thank Maxis for supporting us in equipping and enabling the team while continuously cultivating a positive culture in team-based eSports in Malaysia,” said John Yao who is the CEO of Team Secret.

Over the past year, both Maxis and Hotlink have launched propositions for a superior gaming experience, including better Home WiFi experience with Maxis Fibre, the latest gaming smartphone bundles with Maxis Zerolution, and a truly unlimited internet and calls prepaid plan with 10 percent cashback for in-game purchases via Operator Billing for Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited customers.

To hype up the recent PUBGM preliminary rounds, Hotlink also organized an exclusive PUBGM Pro Scrim livestream session where Team Secret trained against other Top 16 PUBGM pro-teams across Asia as ‘practice’ sessions pre-tournament.

Team Secret strives to bring together the best players to compete on the world’s biggest stages, putting forth the most entertaining experiences for eSports fans worldwide.

Show your support and follow their journey to be Malaysia’s first world champion in PUBGM. Stay tuned to Hotlink’s Facebook Page and Team Secret’s Facebook Page for more exciting updates.

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Aug – Leong Jun Hao (pic) and Lim Chong King made a fine start to their campaign in Division Two of the BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) Badminton Invitational Championship which kicked-off in Bukit Kiara today.

Jun Hao acknowledged his problem of a ‘slow start’ after being out of action since March this year following the Movement Control Order (MCO) that was put in place due to COVID-19.

“The first day was a little difficult for me but I hope I can do better after this. My achievement was not as expected.

“As it was previously, I did face the issue of a slow start and it is something which I am trying to change,” said Jun Hao .

Jun Hao came back from losing the first set to take the next two sets 20-22 21-16 21-14 to overcome Ter Chun Long in the morning session before ensuring his second victory of the day when he saw off Low Eu Cong with a straight set victory 23-21, 22-20.

On the other hand, Chong King did not feel the pressure of being placed in Division Two as he hunts for a promotion.

“Other than Jun Hao, I feel that Wyman Goh is capable of giving a good fight. But I don’t want to focus on just a few players where it is better that I concentrate and maintain the right momentum in every game, “said Chong King.

Chong King won in straight sets 21-15, 21-14 over Low Eu Cong in the morning session but struggled in the afternoon before he was able to fend off Muhammad Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar 19-21, 21-15, 21-14.

Two players currently in third place in Division 2 are Muhammad Shaqeem and Wyman Goh who recorded one win and one loss at the end of the days’ session.

Wyman Goh fell to a 21-18, 9-21, 17-21 loss to Muhammad Shaqeem Shahyar in the first session but came back to beat Ter Chun Long in straight sets 22-20, 21-16.

On the other hand, Muhammad Shaqeem Shahyar was forced to work hard before he was able to beat Wyman Goh in a three-set thriller 18-21, 21-9, 21-17 but failed to get past Chong King with a 19-21, 21-15, 21-14 defeat.

Menawhile, singles coach Hendrawan, who was in Bukit Kiara for the morning session today, felt that the tournament is a good venue to gauge the current level of the players following the long break.

“This tournament is good for players as they have been out of action since the MCO,” said Hendrawan.

“They seem to be a little off the pace due to them not having any tournaments for the past three to four months. There were also players who were under pressure like Jun Hao who looked uneasy.”

The BAM Invitational Championship is a BAM-organised event following four months of inactivity following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The championship is being held at the Malaysian Badminton Academy (ABM) in Bukit Kiara without spectators – using the ’round robin’ format and divided into two phases.

For phase 1, the match will take place from 5-7 August involving six back-up players who will compete to win the top two spots for the chance to play in the main division.

Division 1 will then start from 11-16 August divided into five categories and will be accompanied by 52 senior players including eight professional players.

DIVISION 2 RESULTS

MORNING SESSION

Leong Jun Hao – Ter Chun Long (20-22 21-16 21-14)

Lim Chong King – Low Eu Cong (21-15 21-14)

Muhammad Shaqeem Shahyar – Wyman Goh (18-21 21-9 21-17)

EVENING SESSION

Leong Jun Hao – Low Eu Cong (23-21, 22-20)

Lim Chong King – Muhammad Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar (19-21, 21-15, 21-14)

Wyman Goh – Ter Chun Long (22-20, 21-16)

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Aug – S. Kisona (pic), the women’s singles gold medallist at the SEA Games in the Philippines last year, is among the five shortlisted candidates vying for the Athlete of the Year Award at this year’s Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM)-100PLUS Awards 2019.

The Negeri Sembilan-born lass certainly made heads turned when she defied the odds to successfully defend Malaysia’s women singles crown at the SEA Games following Goh Jin Wei’s win in 2017 on home soil.

Enroute, Kisona showed her quality when she sidestepped players who were far more experienced and ranked a lot higher including Thailand’s second seeded Nitchaon Jindapol, who was ranked 22nd in the world then.

However, Kisona will be up against a strong company in the chase for the SAM-100PLUS Athlete of the Year Award where she will have to contend with Malaysia’s gymnastic queen Farah Ann Abdul Hadi.

The Metropolitan city of Manila bore witness to the triumph of Farah Ann, who brilliantly won three gold medals at the SEA Games 2019.

Farah went up the podium three times as the winner of the individual, the uneven bars and also the floor events.

The sport of wushu also shone bright in 2019 with Loh Choon How following up his podium finish at last year’s World Championship in Shanghai with a double gold medals at the 29th SEA Games in the Philippines.

The 27-year-old put aside pain to deliver the glitter of two gold medals in the taijiquan and taijijian events.

It has also been a fabulous year for track cyclist, Mohd. Azizulhasni Awang when he took the gold medal in the men’s keirin in the fourth leg of the Track World Cup in New Zealand last year – by beating former world champion Shane Perkins of Russia and Australia’s world champion, Matthew Glaetzer.

Figure skater, Julian Yee has also thrown his name into the hat for the Athlete of the Year Award after successfully defending the gold medal in Manila after his triumph at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games previously.

In the meantime, in the SAM-100PLUS Para Athlete of the Year Award, Sarawak-born Bonnie Bunyau Gustin leads the cast following his gold medal winning feat at the World Powerlifting Championship in Kazakhstan for the Under 65kg category.

But whether his 190kg lift will be enough to crush his opponents, remained to be seen as Bonnie will be up against two archers who are also aiming for the top prize.

S. Suresh made the top of the podium at the World Archery Championship in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands last year while teammate Wiro Anak Julin, the champion at last year’s Asian Archery in Bangkok, Thailand, will also be in the fray.

Completing the list of nominations for the 2019 Para Athlete of the Year Award is Muhd. Ziyad Zolkefli who won the silver medal at the SEA Games in Manila.

The winners of both Athlete of the Year and also Para Athlete of the Year Award will each receive RM 10,000 cash prize and a trophy.

The SAM-100PLUS Awards 2019 is scheduled for 12 August 2020 at the Auditorium of the Malaysian Badminton Academy (ABM) in Bukit Kiara.

Other than recognising the achievements of athletes, the SAM-100PLUS Awards will celebrate the sports journalists who will be given the chance to win an overall cash prize of more than RM50,000.

The awards are divided into six categories: – Best News Report (Print Media), Best News Report (Electronic Media), Best News Review (Print Media), Best News Review (Electronic Media), Special Report (Open) and Best Sports Photography.

The overall winner for the sports journalism category will receive the Siebel Award with a cash prize of RM RM 7,000 and a trophy.

The SAM-100PLUS Awards 2019 will be inaugurated by Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, the Minister of Youth and Sports (KBS).

PREVIOUS WINNERS – ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

1995 – Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock (Badminton)

1996 – Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock (Badminton)

1997 – Nurul Huda Baharin (Shooting)

1998 – Lim Keng Liat (Swimming)

1999-2001 – No Award

2002 – Lim Keng Liat (Swimming) and S.Premila (Karate-do)

2003 – Lim Keng Liat (Swimming)

2004 – Bryan Nikson Lomas (Diving)

2005 – Nicol Ann David (Squash)

2006 – Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Badminton)

2007 – Wong Mew Choo (Badminton)

2008 – Lee Chong Wei (Badminton)

2009 – Mohd. Azizulhasni Awang (Cyling)

2010 – Pandelela Rinong (Diving)

2011 – Nur Suryani Taibi (Shooting)

2012 – Pandelela Rinong (Diving)

2013 – Sazali Samad (Bodybuilding)

2014 – Nicol Ann David (Squash)

2015 – Pandelela Rinong (Diving)

2016 – Lee Chong Wei (Badminton)

2017 – Mohd Azizulhasni Awang (Cyling)

2018 – Muhammad Rafiq Ismail (Tenpin Bowling)

PREVIOUS WINNERS – PARA-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

2016 – Mohd. Ridzuan Mohd. Puzi (Athletics – T36 classification sprint)

2017 – Muhd. Ziyad Zolkefli (Athletics – T20 classification shot putt)

2018 – Mohd. Ridzuan Mohd. Puzi (Athletics – T36 classification sprint)